I Like Me

One of the primary requirements of good relationships is the ability to like yourself. 

If we are counting on  someone to create our positive self respect, then we will always be a reflection of how they like or dislike who we are, which is really dangerous. 

Here is a little exercise we use to help meditate on self respect:

Respecting our self

Make an internal commitment to respect yourself and to feel worthy of all life has to offer. 

The law of sowing and reaping attracts disrespect when we're affirming we are unworthy and we literally say to the universal source of all, "STOP THE FLOW OF ANYTHING I DESIRE, WHICH IS COMING IN MY DIRECTION, BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IM WORTHY OF RECEIVING IT."

If we want to harvest corn we have to plant corn. If we plant wheat, we will not harvest corn. This is the law of sowing and reaping embraced by all major religions.
In addition, the law of physics states, for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

If we sow our negativity and unworthiness the universe around us will will respond, causing us to reaffirm our inner conviction of unworthiness and attract even more disrespect in a multitude of ways.

The provider of all things can do nothing other than provide. A tree grows and receives provision so it reaches its potential. It receives because it doesn't know how not to. 

We are the same as a tree, but our ego comes up with thoughts which block our provision. God, the source all good things, will keep providing, it is our negative expectation which turns away the positive provision. In the vacuum we create, the negative things fill the void.

Reflection for meditation:

I am not my body. I am not my accumulations. I am not my achievements. I am not my reputation. I am whole and perfect as I was created!

Thoughts for the Journey of Life

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

Our new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations. For more information on how to order our book (click here).

OUR SOUL

It is interesting that Psychology is derived from the word Psyche which is interpreted “soul”, yet the Encyclopedia of Psychology has no entry for the soul. In our previous blog “we are one”, we explored the impact of Quantum Physics on our modern spiritual journey and showed how this science breakthrough clearly demonstrates how all things are connected, as all things begin and end as energy.

As we discussed, this energy comes from one source and we are one with this energy. Most spiritual journeys agree this creative energy source is God.

As theologian George Hermes states:
 From one Soul of the Universe are all Souls derived.

If we truly are one, then why are we so divided in so many ways? One common reason for this is we do not understand how we are all connected by the energy of our souls, for it is the soul, which connects us to the core of all life, God. 

If I go to the ocean and fill a glass of water, I have the ocean in the glass. It may lack the power and dynamic of the ocean, but it is one with it. We are the glass filled with the energy of God, we may lack the power and dynamic of the source, but we are still one with it.

If we don’t believe in God, then we are on a journey, which will be controlled by our interaction with the physical and not consciously part of the soul. However, even if we are thinking we are disconnected and do not believe in God, we are truly still connected by this soul energy; we are simply not taking advantage of the power this energy provides.

We do not have a soul, we are a soul and this is the common basis of all relationships. If I allow the human, physical world to define relationship, then I will be at the mercy of the ever changing and unpredictable natural world.

But if I connect to who I am as soul and merge this connection with another soul, then this relationship will have the ability to be guided by the strength and beauty of the universal source of the soul. 

WE ARE LIKE ISLANDS IN THE SEA, SEPARATE ON THE SURFACE BUT CONNECTED IN THE DEEP. 

 WILLIAM JAMES 

These thoughts depict the relationship reality for both romantic connection and friendship with others. But the true relationship begins with the relationship to who we are as individuals, for we are not someone who has a soul, we are the soul. 

Thoughts for the Journey of Life

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

The new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations.

For more information on how to order our book (click here).

We are One

In the last One Hundred years, our understanding of life has undergone a major evolution, which is easily understood but often either rejected or ignored. 

Until Albert Einstein gave the world the birth of Quantum Physics, our understanding of life was based on the belief that all things in life were separate from each other. A tree was a tree and thus was separate from the river and earth. As people we defined our self by our differences, which separated us from the other things around us.

Quantum Physics demonstrates all things are energy and thus not separate from each other but actually one. If we break all matter down to its smallest component, we find it is not solid material; rather it is energy, which is used to form matter but not limited by the matter it forms.

What does this mean to human existence both as individuals and in relationships?

Simple: We are all one. Not male, female, red, white, yellow, black, rich, poor – Just one.

Then why do we treat others so dreadfully? – Because we just don’t buy into the thought of one.

All this energy is not simply random; it is part of a greater source, which is the creator of all energy. This source is what most of us call God.

Think about this for a minute:

Genesis Ch.1

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 

5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day

When there was nothing, the source of all things brought all the existing energy together and made something. It wasn’t separate from the source; it was one, just in a new shape.

Obviously, this thought can be debated from a hundred angles, but the reality is, we are all one, from one source. We are not separate but one.

How does this change our life? Jesus left us with one solid insight which we need to truly understand.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

Mark12:30,31

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. 

If I am one with my neighbor, then I love them as I love myself. 

Big problem is, do we love our self? 

Every human has traits and thoughts, which make the journey difficult and we will find fault with our self because of these negative traits, but our core is the positive creative energy, which unites us with others. We may not like all we do or think, and we may not care for all that others do or think, but at the core we are all one, created out of positive energy by the true source of all energy.

Relationships are simply an extension of each other. 

Love the essence of all, 

even if you don’t like the actions. 

Love never fails.

Thoughts for the Journey of Life

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

The new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations.

For more information on how to order our book (click here).

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LOVE vs FEAR

Our journey as counselors has always been highly dependent on spiritual understandings. Over many years of client interaction, we have concluded religion in all forms often makes our spiritual journey difficult. 

Churches, Synagogs, Mosques and other places of religious gathering are important in joining together and celebrating our common beliefs, but when this gathering becomes more important than our spiritual journey, it is no longer a place of growth, rather a place of frustration. If our journey of life is to be positive and fulfilling, we need to set aside all the confusing strong judgements of religion and embrace the reality of love

All emotions begin in either Love or Fear. Most religions agree "God is Perfect Love" and therefore the culmination of all experience in the eternal plan of life. If we find ourselves in any emotion other than Love, we need to experience and understand this emotion, then seek for the way Love provides a better option.

The Christian bible states "Perfect Love casts out Fear (1 John 4:18)" but we will never understand the power of Perfect Love until we experience Fear. 

For example: A person will never understand tall unless exposed to short, wet until knowing dry, peace until knowing anger. 

Knowing about the shadow or fear side of life gives us the ability to understand the light side, which is love. With both these options clearly understood, we make a choice as to which to follow.

Fear always presents itself when love appears, but turning from the fear allows a life of creative peace and love. For example:

I love you (statement of love)

Do you really love me? (statement of fear)

I really love you  (statement of love)

How long will he/she love me? (statement of fear)

I will never leave you or forsake you (God's Perfect Love)

But what if I don’t do things right (Religious Fear)

The creative journey depends on trusting the fact that God loves us and does not judge us but simply observes how we use our gift of life. Most religions teach that God is the source of Unconditional Love. 

However, religion then goes on to tell us what conditions we have to meet in order to receive Unconditional Love. 

This is confusing as how can it be unconditional if it has conditions?

                                                 

When we live outside of the Perfect Love, we will most likely do and say things which will provide a less than fulfilling life. While these actions fall outside of Perfect Love, we are always loved unconditionally even if our actions may be imperfect. We may find judgement for our inappropriate actions, but our essence or intrinsic nature is always loved unconditionally. 

On a human level, we may not like a persons behaviors or words but we will not judge them as a person, only dislike their action. 

Our life journey is to choose who we will be and then experience what we create. If I choose to be a person of peace then love will guide me. But if I choose to abide in anger or anxiety, then fear is my guiding force.This process teaches us how to know what Love and Fear are. By experiencing these opposite feelings, we then have the choice to walk in either one or the other and learn from them.

 Whatever the choice we make, it will provide information and guidance for our eternal journey.

Ultimately, God's love is always with us, for nothing can separate us from the love of God. It is this Unconditional Perfect Love, which allows us to experience life and make decisions we about, "Who I Am". 

This Perfect Love will never condemn, it will only observe. No matter what I create, it is always something useful in understanding Perfect Love. As long as we trust Perfect Love is there for us, our journey will be positive. If we doubt this Perfect Love, then we walk with fear, and we will create more fear.

Spend a few moment asking yourself what you truly believe about God's Perfect, Unconditional Love. We can't live positively unless we really believe it.

                                            

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

The new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations.

For more information on how to order our book (click here)